Possessions
by Sciara
Summary: [Oneshot] A bracelet, a hat, a necklace, a tribute and a symbol - as the years passed by, Ace felt closer to family than ever, even if they were miles apart. He never did realize why.


**Alternatively: Time to migrate my stories onto here because I'm an idiot.**

 **Companion piece to _Colours_.**

 **Meet some of my headcanons.**

 **Cross-posted on AO3**

* * *

"Garp…"

The marine snapped out of his sleep, looking directly at Portgas D. Rouge as the woman in question was playing with a bracelet on her wrist.

"What is it?" He asked, getting off the chair and approaching the woman. "Do you need something?"

"I…" Rouge hesitated, brown eyes making contact with Garp's. "Would you give this to my – _our_ – one day, when they're able to take care of it?" She raised an arm, indicating the red-and-white bracelet on her wrist, the same one she was playing with moments ago. The marine raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

Rouge raised an eyebrow, mild amusement visible on her face. "Come now, Garp. Surely you can understand a few simple words." The amusement faded from her face, being replaced with affection as she placed a hand on her stomach. "I'm tired, Garp… I don't… I don't think I'll survive to see them grow up."

"Rouge, don't you _dare_ -"

Rouge looked up to Garp, effectively cutting off the rest of the elder's sentence. The marine pursed his lips and sighed. "Please, Garp. I at least want them to have _something_ from me. From _us._ It's bad enough that there are those who'll hate them for being born, but not even leaving something for them? It's heartless."

Garp and Rouge stared at each other, determination blazing in the woman's and hesitance in the man's. Seconds ticked by before Garp sighed, closing his eyes in the process. Rouge chuckled softly, slipping the bracelet off and handing it to Garp.

"You should know something, Rouge," Garp murmured, looking at the bracelet before closing his fist around it, "I'm only holding onto it for you. No way in hell am I going to promise such a thing. _You're_ the one who's gonna give them this damn bracelet, alright?"

A light laugh fluttered out from the female. "Of course, Garp."

* * *

"Neh?" Ace stuttered out, looking at the bracelet that had casually landed in his palm after catching it from his adoptive grandfather. "What's this?"

A snort. "It's a bracelet, brat."

Ace gave Garp a derisive snort. "Really, old man? I could tell. I mean, _what_ is it? Why're you giving this to me?" He paused, before his face was filled with mild horror. "You're not giving this to me because -"

Next thing the child knew, he was holding onto a rapidly growing bruise on his head, one eye closed as he hissed from the pain. "Don't even suggest things like that, brat! Or do you want say them because you want to feel another Fist of Love!?" Ace glared at the man, and Garp laughed, as if he didn't just hit his grandson and was then allowed to be detained for child abuse. "The bracelet's a gift from me. Don't think too deep into it. Can't a grandfather get his grandkids something from time to time?"

 _Right, because a Fist of Love is a gift from time to time,_ Ace thought, rolling his eyes in annoyance. He made eye contact with Garp and Ace did the only mature thing he knew – he stuck out his tongue and glared. Annoyance flared in Garp's face and Ace ducked his head, closing his eyes and waiting for the impending blow –

Instead, he felt the giant hand pat his head affectionately. Ace's eyes snapped open, and he was about to comment, but _something_ on Garp's face stopped him.

"Don't lose it, brat."

Then, the marine was off, laughing about how his grandson was going to be the best damned marine the world knew. Ace was still cradling his head, a look of confusion written plain as day. He extracted the hand that held the bracelet.

For some stupid sentimental reason, Ace kept the bracelet. It reminded him of the sense of family, – he had to remind himself – something that he didn't have.

* * *

"Ace!"

The teen swatted away his brother's incoming face, mumbling about the time and being too early to talk. He hadn't even opened his eyes yet. He could easily imagine the thirteen-year old's face scrunch up as he tried to 'wake' his brother...

…

" _ACE!_ "

 _He sounds like –!_

Ace sat up suddenly, bumping into Luffy's forehead as the latter's head stretched back a ridiculous distance. Ace hissed, raising a hand to massage his temple. A quick glance at Luffy let him release the breath he didn't know he was holding. "Jeez, Luffy, how many times did I say _not_ to do that!?" Ace scowled at his brother, who was holding onto his head as he tried to shake off the dizziness.

"Shihihihi!" Luffy laughed, grinning happily at his brother. "Come on! Let's go to town!"

"Why so excited?" Ace grumbled, pawing for a shirt that he could use. He ignored Luffy's ramblings about food and training until he managed to slip the clothing over him. "Besides, it's cold. Too early for animals to get up and hunt, anyway." _He… sounded like… seven years ago…_

Luffy _laughed_ , as if he wasn't being told that food would have to wait, also seemingly oblivious to his older brother's mild discomfort. "Silly Ace. It's your birthday!"

Ace froze, eyes widening slightly as he processed the information. Then, after taking multiple deep breaths, he turned and faced Luffy, who's face was still filled with excitement. "Luffy," Ace said, doing his best to be patient and keep his tone even, "don't you remember? I hate my birth -"

Luffy pounced onto Ace, cutting of his brother's sentence. "Let's go to Makino's! Let's go, Ace, _let's go!_ "

Ace rolled his eyes, thankful that the topic of the day was behind them. "I can't exactly bring us there if you're wrapping your arms around my legs, Lu."

"Shihihihihi! Sorry!"

The snow made their usual time of ten minutes of getting to the village double into twenty, and by that time, Ace was shivering; he was thankful that, despite being rubber, Luffy's body still acted as if it was flesh and could still transfer body heat. He was also thankful that, because he was rubber, Luffy wasn't effected the same way normal people were, lest the hyperthermia he'd had gotten when he threw himself onto a body of snow.

Ace grunted. "We're here, Lu." The younger brother woke from his daze, blinking blearily before recognizing the bar, and untangled himself from Ace and dashed inside, snow flying past Ace's face. He wiped the snow from his eyes, scowling lightly at first but soon smiling gently as he heard the sounds of laughter within the bar.

When he stepped in, the first thing we was expecting was a chattering Luffy and Makino listening to every word he said, occasionally ruffling his hair and then greeting Ace with an affectionate smile. Instead, he got Makino giving a very cheerful smile, presenting him a decorated box with Luffy giggling behind her.

Ace swore that was the hardest he'd ever blushed in his entire life (he'd rather pretend it never happened, though).

After that escapade, he and Luffy left the bar to walk across the town – the place was wonderfully decorated for the beginning of the new year, and everyone was celebrating. The night was descending upon them, so all the lights made everything look more ethereal. The thirteen-year old kept dragging Ace into celebration events, but all the teen could muster up was a sad smile, something the younger sought to remedy immediately. A quick look around and Luffy gone. Ace blinked.

"Luffy?"

…

" _Luffy!?"_

"Neh?"

Ace turned around and cuffed the back of Luffy's head in an attempt to hide his panic. "Don't just run off like that, you idiot!"

"Shihihihihi! I was right there, Ace, it's fine! Anyway, here's –"

"Hey, that kid stole something from me!" A shopkeeper roared in anger, pointing a finger towards Luffy who –

Who would've looked completely innocent if it weren't for the fact that the shopkeeper had hats on display, and Luffy was holding onto a tagged cowboy hat.

Ace scowled, grabbed Luffy, and ran. "You dolt." They scrambled and quickly escaped into the forest, the night sky and general instincts granting them an unnecessary advantage.

Ace scowled at his brother, but was answered with the hat being fixated on his head. The teen blinked, losing all interest on berating the teen for a _hat._ "What's this for, Lu?"

"You were sad, so I got you a hat! Besides, you're the only one without one," Luffy responded distractedly, trying – and failing – to adjust the hat on Ace's head, but it was much to large and resigned to letting it slip over Ace's eyes.

"Why would I need a hat?" Ace grumbled, face morphing into one of a pouting child.

"Because you didn't have one! Also, it's your birthday gift from me!"

Ace frowned tiredly, slipping the hat off and looking at it. "Lu, I said it already, I hate my birth-"

Luffy pounced on him _again,_ this time resting his chin on Ace's head while Ace's face connected with Luffy's shirt. "But why? We're celebrating today because it's your birthday, isn't it?"

Ace let out a muffled "Huh?" as he tried to pry Luffy off.

The younger huffed, untangling himself so he could look Ace right in the eye. "We wouldn't be partying today unless it was your birthday, Ace! Isn't that right? We're all having so much fun and playing games and partying because it's Ace-nii's birthday, and Ace is the best big brother _ever!_ "

The freckled teen was at a complete loss of words, mouth slightly ajar as he tried to process the information.

"Everyone's happy because it's your birthday, so we're having fun! They _wish_ you were their big brother, but nope! Ace is _my_ big brother, and they can't have ya! So they're all saying thanks, Ace! _Thank you for being the best big brother!"_

Ace slipped the hat back on, playing with the charm at the end before giving his brother a heartfelt hug. He was right, after all.

Ace didn't have a hat, yet the other two did. He would keep it – and _wear_ it – because it came from them.

* * *

He woke up to the sound of inane, mindless chatter from his brother, talking about adventure and what his crew would be like. Ace smiled, cuffing the back of Luffy's head gently. "Shut up, Lu," he chastised lightly as he stretched his limbs. The fourteen-year old gave him a cheeky grin, waiting for Ace to finish before pouncing on his older brother's back. "Hey!"

"You're setting sail today, right?" Luffy asked, grip on Ace tightening while he buried his head into Ace's shoulder.

"Yeah," Ace shrugged, much too used to the feeling of Luffy's stretchable face digging onto his shoulder. He grabbed a shirt shoved Luffy off him, slipping the shirt on before shuffling through his belongings to find his hat. "You coming to see me off, right?"

"Shihihihi! Duh!" Luffy answered, swaying left and right cheerfully. Then, the younger's face looked sad. "I'll miss ya, though."

Ace let out a small laugh, one filled with mirth. "It'll only be for three years, little brother. Then we'll definitely meet each other again."

Luffy nodded, face filled with renewed vigor as if the older wasn't going to be departing soon. "Makino's coming, too!"

"Yeah?" Ace responded, playing with the red-and-white bracelet nonchalantly. "I should go pop by Dadan's first, though. I need to say some things. Why don't you go hunting while I do that?"

Luffy grinned, shooting away from the treehouse within a few moments. Ace's light smile dropped from his face, mind scrambling to find the words to say to his adoptive-but-not-really mother.

"Screw it," he muttered, jumping out of the tree house and glancing at the ship awaiting its captain. "Be there soon."

He could hear Luffy's inane laughter as animals were beat up, and Ace decided that, along the way, he could show his 'thanks' by giving them animals that were likely four months' worth of food. So much, in fact, that Dadan had gone from screeching to dead silent the moment she opened the door and spotted Ace's farewell gift.

"Um," Ace started, unable to really continue, "Uh…" His face coloured lightly, and he ducked his head in hopes of no one seeing it. "Thanks for taking care of me, when, uh, you didn't want to."

Ace expected a grunt, a snort, _something_ that would make you think they were bandits, but when he looked up, he could only blink as Dadan's eyes were welling up with tears. "Uh…" Ace had no idea how to properly handle the situation; he _hated_ it when people cried. "Dadan…?"

"C'mere, brat," Dadan huffed, pulling Ace into a hug. The teen blinked in surprise, and by the time he processed the action, he was already released, and something was being pressed into his palm. "Here," the woman stated. Ace brought his hand up, looking at the long, red beaded necklace.

"This is…?"

A snort. "A necklace, brat. Whaddya think?" Ace rolled his eyes at the answer, putting the necklace on without much thought. "Think of it as a little something from me. From us."

…

Ace snorted. "Sentimental old hag."

"OI!"

He kept the necklace, though. It was a nice reminder that, even though they refused him at first, in the end, they still cared.

* * *

Ace thought he could finally, _finally_ make some semblance of peace after discovering his Devil Fruit. He was wrong.

And that led him to his current situation. His crew was off drinking, for he had let them off as it was nearing a celebration called "Christmas," something he knew little to none about. However, his crew seemed expectant, so Ace let them take the week off – the blackmail photos were a nice addition – and that left him alone.

Not really, but it was different than the alone he was used to. Ace stumbled into a store without much thought, until he realized someone was speaking to him and got annoyed with the lack of proper – or any – response. It was a tattoo parlor, and it seemed quite lively. People off having fun, having mindless chatter as their skin was being painted on.

A thought crossed Ace's mind; he locked his jaw and approached the counter for a tattoo.

"Um…" The tattooist hesitated, and Ace raised an eyebrow in askenance.

"What?"

"Is… is that how you want me to spell your name?" The tattooist asked tentatively, pointing to the piece of paper he'd scribbled on as example.

Ace resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he tried to explain the meaning of the ASCE tattoo, with a crossed-out S. "Yeah. And before you ask, I _do_ know how to spell my name. Just… just do it, will ya?"

The tattooist's eyes hardened in determination, and Ace smirked as design was imprinted onto his skin. He willed himself not to turn into fire – be it accidental or on purpose – as the needle pushed its way into his skin, the rubber gloves making it feel a bit odd. He tried to keep himself tense and focused on a number or particular subjects as the tattoo was being finished, because if his narcolepsy kicked in, Ace would consider it the _most embarrassing thing he'd done his entire life._ So, of course, he fell asleep.

He awoke to someone lightly slapping his cheek, and he blinked once, twice, in an attempt to clear the fog from his eyes. The tattooist took a step back, clearly pleased that Ace was awake.

"It's done, sir," the tattooist said, clearly proud of their work despite being originally hesitant. Ace glanced at his left bicep, looking at the neatly done tattoo. He raised an eyebrow at the circle inside the C; the tattooist noticed and quickly answered the unspoken question. "When you fell asleep, your arm moved, so I missed and that happened. I decided to make it into a pattern, because it would be odd if it was just there. Also, you were asleep for some time…" The tattooist paused, implying the reason for the lack of bandages.

Ace raised both eyebrows at the admittance, then smirked lightly. "Nice job. How much do I owe you?"

"200 beli, sir."

Ace remained silent for a moment, contemplating whether or not he should just get the hell out of there, but he recalled the few pieces of knowledge about 'Christmas': it was the season of generosity and kindness. Ace was not very kind to people he didn't know, much less liked, but the tattooist was insane enough o actually go on with the tattoo request and did a little something extra. He dug into his pockets and retrieved the required amount.

Then, the freckled teen tilted his head and grinned. "Thanks for the tat." Then, in a blink on an eye, he was gone, an exact 200 beli in the palm of his tattooist. In all honesty, Ace would say that you couldn't put a price on a human life, but Sabo's would be worth _so much more_.

 _It might not be enough, Sabo,_ Ace thought to himself as he boarded his ship, _but I hope you appreciate it nonetheless. Sorry I couldn't save you._

 _At least, with this, I can take your dreams with me._

* * *

People were persistently crowding him, asking him if he was alright and why he was bandaged and what reason did he have to miss lunch –

He was pleased to see Marco bark at the others, hiding his smirk in the process. Of course, the Phoenix knew why he was bandaged and why he missed lunch, but he was letting the youngest crew member have his moment of mysteriousness. As If he wasn't an enigma enough.

Later that night, when Ace was heading up to Whitebeard's room, a chef decided it would be a _wonderful_ idea to 'ambush' a logia-type who knew Haki, and could be very, _very_ paranoid in a given situation. Now, Thatch was sporting mild first-degree burns, and Ace couldn't be more _horrified_.

"Ace, it's _fine_ -"

"No, it's not _fine_! What if I didn't recognize you in time, Thatch!? _I could've killed you!"_ The teen spoke in a hushed, frenzied whisper.

Thatch raised an eyebrow at the teen, who, the first few months aboard the _Moby Dick_ , was completely antagonistic and could've cared less, but now, it was a teen who looked ready to cry for as much getting the division commander's clothes a little singed.

"Aww, when did Ace-kun start caring, huh?" Thatch _cooed_ , and Ace froze, eyes wide and mouth ajar as he stared at Thatch. "Didja finally join the crew, Ace? That why you been so secretive and going up to Oyaji? Or you attempting another attack? Man, I thought you would've stopped since Marco had a one-on-one with you."

Ace's mouth dried up as Thatch continued his rambling, and the chef only noticed when he realized the logia type had gone dead pale. "Ace?" Thatch asked, ignoring the light sting of his wounds and shaking the freckled teen's shoulders. "Did I go too far? Shit, sorry. Izo tells me that I should watch it, but -"

Ace swatted Thatch's hand away, and the chef looked indignant at the 'rejection.' "Just… shut up, Thatch."

"No, seriously though, did I go too far? Really sorry if I did; you would be a really good addition and -"

Thatch paused in his ramblings as Ace dragged the chef up to Whitebeard's room. The chef's face morphed into one of mild horror. "Ace, _no._ I am _not_ getting involved with this! I can't just barge into Oyaji's room and-"

"Hello, Ace, Thatch."

Ace tilted his head in response, a light smile growing on his lips. Thatch, on the other hand, looked horrified, as if he was going _way_ beyond acceptable boundaries. Whitebeard's mouth curled, smirking at his son's reaction.

"I… I can't call you Oyaji… Not yet."

Whitebeard laughed, one full of mirth and happiness, not a care in the world. "Didn't expect you to, brat. But let me see, anyways, and let Thatch see it, too. I think he's gone frozen from something."

Ace glanced at his older brother, mirth dancing in grey eyes. "Thatch, mind taking the bandages off?"

The chef blinked. "Are you hurt? Do you need to go to the infirmary? Oyaji, sorry but Ace is -"

"Holy hell, Thatch, _just do it_ ," Ace snarked.

Whitebeard let out a bark of laughter as Thatch's face turned into one of accusement, then proceeded to acquiesce to the youngster's wishes. Whitebeard kept an eye on the chef's face, and it did not disappoint. It was almost as good as the marine's reactions whenever he destroyed their ships.

Ace wanted to see Thatch's reactions, but seeing the mirth in Whitebeard's eyes was enough for now.

Thatch's face quickly transformed from annoyance to wonder, to confusion and finally settled on surprise. There was no sound for a few moments, until Thatch turned Ace around and locked in him in a rib-breaking hug.

" _Thatch!"_ The teen protested, squirming in an attempt to get out of the death grip the chef trapped him in. With Ace's back to him, Whitebeard could only smile, a proud look on his face as he took in the violet jolly roger – the same one on the Whitebeard Pirate's flag. " _Stop it, Thatch!"_

"I've got a new little brother!" Thatch sobbed, though he really wasn't crying. His fingers ran through Ace's windswept hair, shoving the younger's face onto the chef's jacket. "A new little brother! Oh, what a glorious day!"

Ace extracted himself from Thatch's grip, taking deep breaths of air as he held is chest. "The hell, Thatch…"

Whitebeard grinned, deciding to spare his newest charge from having to listen to anymore of Thatch's dramatic moments. "Why violet, if I may ask, son?"

The teen in question shrugged, his face flushing from the term of endearment. "Can't really recall. I fell asleep halfway through. I've only got two real reasons to for it, really. The second reason definitely came from Izo, though."

"Izo _knew!?_ " Oh, Thatch was talking again. Ace sighed.

"No. He commented about colours and how my yellow shirt would really clash with my dagger sheath, and it's annoying him. I learned all about colour that hour."

Whitebeard laughed, enjoying how quickly Ace was warming up to his new brothers despite the initial antagonistic meeting. "Get to sleep you brats." the man chuckled, and Thatch grinned at his father. Ace's mouth curled up slightly, and the left the room.

Once again on deck and far enough from the captain's quarters, Thatch once again locked Ace in a hug, but it was much shorter. "Tomorrow, we're throwing a party."

"You just threw one, didn't you?"

"Yeah, well, that was yesterday. Now it's for tomorrow!" Thatch grinned, and ruffled Ace's hair. "See ya tomorrow, _little brother_."

The term of endearment made Ace flush lightly, and he was glad Thatch had already turned around and gone back to his sleeping quarters. Ace leaned on a railing, looking over the sea and staring at the moon. A light smile filtered its way onto Ace's face.

 _Be it because of red and blue… or it being the complementary to yellow. No matter what, you're all my family._


End file.
